He may be one of Bollywood’s most loved stars but his popularity hasn’t been able to earn him immunity from the law. Salman Khan broke down in tears yesterday as a sessions judge in Mumbai declared him guilty in a hit-and-run case that occurred more than a decade ago. In 2002,
He may be one of Bollywood’s most loved stars but his popularity hasn’t been able to earn him immunity from the law. Salman Khan broke down in tears yesterday as a sessions judge in Mumbai declared him guilty in a hit-and-run case that occurred more than a decade ago. In 2002, the Dabang actor crashed his SUV into a pavement, killing one man and injuring four others, while he was reportedly under the influence of alcohol. Salman has maintained that he is innocent, claiming that it was his driver behind the wheel, but the verdict is in and it’s a five-year jail term for Sallu bhai.
Whether he actually serves the entire term or not remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure – Salman Khan isn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last Bollywood star to have a run-in with the law. Instep looks at some other actors who’ve made headlines for the wrong reasons:
Sanjay Dutt
The Munnabhai star was arrested in April 1993 under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act, for illegally possessing a 9mm pistol and an AK 56 assault rifle. The case came uncomfortably close on the heels of the 1992-93 Mumbai riots and Dutt was accused of complicity.
The actor was jailed for 16 months between 1994 and 1995, and was handed down a five-year sentence by the Supreme Court in 2005. Dutt is currently in jail completing that sentence.
Shiny Ahuja
Struggling actor Shiny Ahuja made sure his Bollywood career suffered a premature death when he was sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment on March 30, 2011 for sexually assaulting his 18-year-old domestic help. Even though the girl retracted her statement during court proceedings, saying she was forced into making the accusation, the judge gave a guilty verdict. Shiny was out on bail soon after and recent reports suggest that he’s even landed himself a movie project.
Saif Ali Khan
The chota nawab displayed less than princely tendencies back in February 
2012, when he allegedly punched a South African businessman Iqbal Sharma at a restaurant in Mumbai’s Taj Hotel. The actor was having dinner with then-girlfriend Kareena Kapoor, her sister Karisma Kapoor, Malaika Arora and Amrita Arora when Sharma apparently used abusive language against the actor and his friends.
The businessman maintains that he only asked Saif and his group to be less rowdy, which led to the actor getting physically violent. Saif was arrested briefly following the incident and later released on bail. The trial in the assault case is currently underway, with Saif scheduled to appear in court on June 18.
John Abraham
In April 2006, John Abraham rammed his motorbike into a bicycle and injured two people. He was sentenced to 15 days of simple imprisonment for rash and negligent driving by a sessions court and taken briefly into custody in 2012. Luckily for him, the Bombay High Court granted him bail within hours of his arrest and the actor walked away scot-free after paying a fine of Rs. 20,000. Perhaps the fact that John had taken the victims to the hospital himself after the accident and showed up for his hearing on time helped his case.
Fardeen Khan
In May 2001, actor Fardeen Khan was caught attempting to buy cocaine and was arrested from his Juhu home for possession of narcotics. Eleven years after he was initially charged, the actor was acquitted in 2012. Fardeen got off on a simple technicality – since the amount in question was very small, he could avail immunity from prosecution by agreeing to undergo a de-addiction programme.
